Editing Veghel (section)

== History ==
The first known settlements date to [[Roman Empire|Roman times]] and were established near the [[Aa River (Meuse)|River Aa]]. The oldest written record of Veghel dates from 1225. It is a document of the [[Berne Abbey|Abbey of Berne]], written in [[Latin]] on a piece of [[parchment]], and describes several properties owned by the abbey. Among those is an [[Estate (land)|estate]] located in the settlement of "Vehchele".

In 1310, John II of Brabant granted the inhabitants the right to use common grounds. For some decades in the 16th and 17th century, the municipality was ruled by the Lords Van Erp; they resided at their castle of Frisselsteijn in Veghel.

In 1648 Veghel became part of the [[Dutch Republic|Republic of the Seven United Netherlands]]. As a former part of the [[Duchy of Brabant]], Veghel is situated in the [[Meierij]] of [['s-Hertogenbosch]]. 

Like all the other areas of Brabant and [[Limburg (Netherlands)|Limburg]] which were transferred to the Netherlands by the [[Peace of Westphalia]]), Veghel was a Catholic town. It suffered economic and religious oppression from the Protestant Dutch and was part of the military buffer zone of the Dutch Republic.

In 1719 Veghel became a [[market town]], when it was granted [[town privileges|market rights]] by the [[States General of the Netherlands]]. This gave it the privilege of holding weekly [[market (place)|markets]] and four [[fair|annual fairs]]. However, it was not until the French wars of 1795 that Veghel formally received freedom of religion again and received a guarantee of full common rights from the Dutch government. 

In 1810 Veghel became part of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]. From the middle of the 19th century, the agrarian market town began to industrialize as a consequence of the opening of the [[South Willem's Canal]]. The wealth generated by new industries helped support the construction of large-scale buildings, such as the neogothic [[Church (building)|church]] by [[Pierre Cuypers]] and the neoclassical [[town hall]], dates from that period. Monastic orders developed Veghel as a regional centre of health care and education, which it remains to this day.

In 1940 Veghel was occupied by [[Nazi Germany|German]] troops. With the beginning of [[Operation Market Garden]] in 1944, Veghel was one of the dropping-sites for Allied [[paratroops]] owing to its strategic location.

The period since the 1950s has seen much growth, with the development of new industries. Also several international companies (e.g. [[Mars, Incorporated]], [[FrieslandCampina]], [[:nl:DMV (zuivelcoöperatie)#DMV International|DMV International]], [[Agrifirm]], [[Kuehne + Nagel]], [[DHL Supply Chain]], [[Alliance Healthcare]], [[ThyssenKrupp]] and [[Vanderlande|Vanderlande Industries]]) have established centers in Veghel. 

Its shopping centre and marketplace earned the town the name of "Pearl of the Meierij". Veghel is an educational centre for the surrounding district: it has several secondary schools, a senior secondary vocational school, and the Pedagogic Academy, founded in 1872 and one of the oldest higher vocational schools in the area.

Since 1994, Veghel and the neighbouring town of [[Erp, Netherlands|Erp]] have formed a single municipality.